Ukrainian envelopment of strategic crossroads at Krasnyi Luch
To delve into Ukraine's current leitmotiv, "the Russians have not invaded yet." Moreover, the Ukrainian army is in the midst of their most ambitious, desperate and risky operation yet in this war. Sloppy and at times uncoordinated, yes! But complex and epic in the face of fierce resistance; one of the most striking military events in the entire history of Ukraine. As of this afternoon Moscow time (15:00) elements of the Ukrainian army have attacked from the northwest and seized western and northeastern neighborhoods of the town of Krasnyi Luch, the last crossroads connecting Donetsk to supply lines leading to the Russian border. The situation reports by the separatist commander, Strelkov, have increasingly become laconic; two hours ago he was blaming the Russian Don Cossacks for running from the field of battle, followed by disparaging stereotypes going back to the Napoleonic wars, to the effect that "when there is serious fighting to be done, the cossacks are never to be found." Things are much more complicated than that, as Russian reinforcements are coming up from the south and the Ukrainians are in for a serious fight if they are to retain control of their new found gains. By having their troops along the border break out from encirclement two days ago, the Ukes have exposed their southern flank to direct reinforcement from Russia. Of note is the performance of a battalion combat group of the 24th "Yavoriwska" mechanized brigade (stationed near my late father's ancestral home in Mostyska), which was surrounded near the Russian border for the last month, where it endured intense rocket and arty fire and lack of food and drinking water. During the successful breakout of the Ukrainian forces from encirclement near the border, instead of destroying its heavy vehicles, like some of the other encircled units, the 24th retreated in full battle order with all operable tanks and armored vehicles in tow and instead of heading west toward safety, actually attacked to the northwest. Two days ago they were the first to break into the town of Miusynsk, just south of the previously mentioned strategic crossroads at Krasnyi Luch. The troopers of the 24th have been locked in heavy street fighting for the last two days and will have contributed immeasurably to the success of the Ukrainian units attacking Krasnyi Luch from the opposite direction. If facts are true, this was quite an impressive performance by a unit that had been shelled from across the Russian border for close to a month and then still had enough combat power to attack in the opposite direction to contribute to an operational success. In fact, the breakout of the Ukrainian "southern group" on 8/7 involved an attacking force heading east towards the encircled forces, who themselves attacked west and met at the town of Dmitrivka along the River Mius (scene of heavy WWII fighting). There, Ukrainian combat engineers bridged the Mius while under fire, enabling much of the encircled force to break out. The Russian separatists resisted fiercely. Photographs on the internet show them next to one of the captured bridges with up to ten destroyed tanks and armored vehicles in the vicinity. If the Ukrainians can consolidate at Krasnyi Luch and be ready to defend against attacks from the south, the separatists in Donetsk and Horlivka will be fully surrounded and cut off from supplies. Absent an invasion by Russian forces, Strelkov's forces in Donetsk are doomed. A climactic moment is near. Either Ukrainian victory or Russian invasion, wherein the war enters a new phase. Thanks for your patience!
July 17 Russian incursion; Mission orders
I too second Outlaw 09's position mentioned above that the Russian Buk shot down the wrong civilian airliner on July 15. There were reports of an averted Russian invasion overnight from July 17-18, that was aborted at the last minute. At the time, it remained a mystery. In light of the Ukrainian SBU's (intelligence service) recent publication of the theory that this incursion was to follow Russian outrage and Western sympathy over a Russian airliner that was to have been shot down over Ukrainian territory by a Russian Buk, but with the Malaysian Air Flight 777 falling instead, the recall of the invasion now makes sense. Regarding Outlaw 09's comment about mission orders, you have to realize that the US Army and Marines occasionally train to fight where they face an equal adversary and their officers try to adjust on the fly on the basis of general mission orders, but in actuality fight scripted wars from above where the adversary has to hide and use guerilla tactics or roadside IED's because of American might, especially in the air and because of integrated digital communications and satellite intelligence. The Ukrainians and Russian separatists, to a large degree, are fighting a WWII era campaign without the sophisticated communications equipment, except at higher staff level. The battalion commanders have mere radio, which as we all know, is not always reliable. My understanding is that the disparate units of the UA, operating apart from each other at a distance of multiple kilometers, have had a problem in maintaining lateral communications, being in touch only vertically with higher headquarters. Nonetheless, when two sides are evenly matched, sophisticated communications often break down as a result of casualties and destroyed equipment, leaving it up to the field commanders to use their intuition to decide what to do next on the basis of limited information. The war in East Ukraine is both fascinating and horrible; a throwback to bold and daring maneuvers between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army.
When was this 'golden age'?
JMA posted and cited in part:
Quote:
Yes the US has military and economic power and probably will maintain its position in this regard... but what the US have already lost and which will never be regained is the moral stature of a super power acting for the 'good'.
When was this period of moral 'good'?
